


Adventures in Shadowing

by shopfront



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Episode: s01e16 The Red Scare, F/M, Kissing, Missing Scene, Undercover as a Couple, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-23 16:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14937825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopfront/pseuds/shopfront
Summary: Lucy and Wyatt face some twists and turns in tracking down Ethan Cahill before he's due to finish work for the day.





	Adventures in Shadowing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ultra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/gifts).



Following Lucy’s grandfather had initially seemed like an ingenious solution. But after dodging two foot patrols and a police car whose occupants seemed very busy examining the faces of passersby, they realised it wasn't going to be the easy fix they'd first thought.

“Trying to find our way in isn’t going to work. They seem to have guards out looking for us all the way from the hearings to the White House,” Lucy said with a huff. "We can't hang around outside any longer, or we're going to run out of luck fast."

“I could take that guard. In there is also the last place they'd look for us,” Wyatt said thoughtfully. As he spoke, he peered again around a corner and across a street to where someone was doing a sweep of the White House grounds.

When Wyatt turned back, he jumped slightly as he came face to face with Lucy. He hesitated for a moment, taken aback by how close together they were. Lucy didn't seem to notice, though. Her arms were crossed, and she raised an eyebrow as she looked at him skeptically.

“What? I could, and it is,” Wyatt said.

"But I couldn't make it over that fence in this skirt," Lucy replied as she turned away. "Anyway, there's no way to be sure that they're not doing extra sweeps inside as well, just in case we have bigger plans than disrupting the hearings. We could end up trapped again and then we wouldn't be able to follow anybody."

Casting one last long look back at the grounds, Wyatt fell into step with her as she began to walk away. “So, what do we do instead?”

“We need to work out where my grandfather is before we can follow him,” Lucy said, half to herself. “Shadowing him directly from the White House clearly isn’t an option. By the time we wait long enough for him to show up, someone will have noticed us. We need to work out when and where he’ll be leaving work tonight-”

She broke off with a muffled yelp as Wyatt clapped a hand over her mouth and tugged her into a nearby garden. Quickly, without taking his hand away, he pulled her behind a tree with him.

“What on earth?” she asked quietly once he'd stopped moving and loosened his grip slightly. But the sound of approaching footsteps quickly cut her off, answering the question for her. Eyes wide, she dropped into a whisper as she continued. “Is that-”

“Cops? Yeah,” Wyatt whispered back. He pressed himself against her, inching around the trunk in an attempt to keep the tree between them and the street.

For a second their eyes met awkwardly as they shuffled. Wyatt's lips parted slightly as he stared down at her, and Lucy swallowed as his hand slipped the rest of the way off her mouth and came to rest lightly against her neck.

But their efforts were in vain. The footsteps were beginning to slow as the officer approached. Panicking slightly, Lucy looked around them. The tiny strip of greenery they were standing in ran down the long side of a brick building. There wasn't so much as an open window in sight, let alone a convenient door or a corner to dash around.

As tightly pressed together as they were, she could feel the tiny shifts of Wyatt's body as he began to tense up and position himself for a fight. Seeing nowhere for them to hide, Lucy grabbed the front of Wyatt’s shirt.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” she hissed. Then she pulled his head down.

The last thing she saw was the blank look of surprise on his face. Wyatt didn't resist as she stretched up to met him in a kiss. Instead he went stiff, his lips unresponsive. But as she wound her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer until he was pinning her firmly against the tree, she felt the tentative movement of his mouth against hers.

The sound of the police officer disappeared altogether, the sharp click of heels muffled as they also left the footpath and began walking through the garden bed. Wyatt shifted restlessly, again. But Lucy just clenched her hands in the back of his jacket and kissed him harder.

Wyatt's fingers suddenly twitched against her neck. Then he slipped his hand to the back of her head, tilting Lucy's face up so that he could deepen the kiss as she exhaled sharply.

The moment stretched between them, lips moving against lips. Until, from a few feet away, there came a chuckle. Lucy’s grip on Wyatt was like iron. Even as part of her was distracted by the feel of their bodies pressed together and the smooth glide of Wyatt's mouth, she clung to him and prayed the ploy worked.

“Kids,” a deep voice muttered, still laughing. The sound of rustling leaves was followed by shoes thumping one after another onto the pavement again. This time the footsteps were moving away, accompanied by whistling.

Lucy and Wyatt broke away from each other with matching sighs of relief as Lucy turned her head to listen. Once the whistling had passed out of earshot, she turned back to Wyatt with a grin and found him staring at her. His expression was wide open, as stunned as if he'd been clocked around the head. But before she could say anything, his face had already smoothed back over and he'd straightened up. 

Lucy hesitated a moment before she ducked out from under his arms.

“Come on, I’ve just had an idea,” she said as she stepped daintily back onto the footpath. She didn't meet his eyes as she tugged her clothes back into place, but in her peripheral vision she could see Wyatt staring at her from the garden.

“What, just now? You had an idea just now?” he asked, his tone rich with disbelief.

“Yes, just now,” Lucy said, and looked up to make an impatient gesture at him. “Hurry up, before someone notices you lurking back there and wonders why!”

Wyatt hopped neatly over the verge as well and stopped at her side, still looking incredulous. “Well? What's the big idea?”

“There must be a diner or a restaurant somewhere nearby where the aides go for lunch. It's about the right time for people to be getting hungry. I say we go back closer to the entrance and follow someone, and then see if we can get some information about Ethan wherever they go."

Wyatt blinked. “Sounds as good an idea as any,” he said grudgingly, shrugging one shoulder. His lips quirked at the corners when Lucy gave him a sideways glance and gently hit him with her handbag.

“I know,” she said in a sing-song voice as they began to retrace their steps.

*

“Yeah, I know Ethan Cahill,” the waitress said warily in response to Wyatt’s question. She put their plates down in front of them and paused, coffee pot still held aloft while she looked them over. “What do you want with him?”

“Oh, how fortunate!” Lucy interrupted with a bright smile. “You see, I’m just the silliest thing. I was childhood friends with Ethan’s wife. Have you met Judy? She’s just the best, isn't she? But I haven't had a chance to see her in forever because we moved down south."

The waitress suspicious look hadn't shifted. She was still watching them with narrowed eyes, and her gaze flicked briefly past Lucy to Wyatt occasionally as Lucy talked.

"Anyway, so we're passing through on our way to New York for a little vacation and I called ahead to arrange with Judy for us all to have dinner together tonight," Lucy continued, smiling even more earnestly. "But my husband and I thought we might as well see the sights here in Washington while we were waiting for Ethan to finish up at the office. Make the most of the day while we're here, you know?”

She paused expectantly, still smiling. Looking more confused than suspicious now, the waitress finally began to pour their coffees.

“Yeah, and?” she finally asked impatiently once she was done.

“Oh! There, you see. I’m just the silliest goose trailing off like that. Aren’t I, darling?” Lucy asked with a giggle.

She leant back against Wyatt and shot him a self-deprecating grin in full view of their audience.

“It’s just that Judy gave us the name of somewhere to meet Ethan for a drink after work. That way we could follow him home in our car, you see. This is our first time visiting since they moved, so we don't know the way yet. It's such a shame, I was so looking forward to seeing them again!"

Lucy paused for a breath, and pressed her foot pointedly down on top of Wyatt's under the table. He cleared his throat and put his arm around her as she continued talking a mile a minute.

"But I’ve darn well gone and lost the piece of paper I wrote the name on so now we don't know where to meet him," she said, shaking her head despondently. "I must have dropped it at some monument or maybe in the park. I'm really not sure, but I just can’t find it anywhere. We'd try just going to find him at work, of course. But I remember Judy saying he’d be running around all day with meetings or something important sounding like that, and I imagine they're not going to let us just _wander_ around the White House.”

The waitress had progressed to leaning against the side of their booth while Lucy talked. Lucy made a show of riffling through her purse once more and then turned a forlorn pout up at her.

"I just don't know how we're going to find him, now," she finished with a sad sigh.

“I know just how you feel, honey. I’m always losing things, too,” the other woman said warmly as she finally broke out a smile. Nudging their plates a little closer to them, she patted Lucy consolingly on the shoulder. “Strictly speaking, we’re not meant to talk about the people who work up there on account of security and all."

She paused and glanced over her shoulder. None of the other staff were nearby, but she leant in close anyway.

But if we can keep this just between us...," she said quietly, trailing off pointedly. When Lucy and Wyatt nodded eagerly, she relaxed a little before continuing. "Ethan’s already been and gone for lunch today, so you won’t catch him here. But he’s a nice guy, always working hard and I remember him saying he recently got given one of the fancy reserved parking spaces with his name on it. Why don’t you take your time with your meal and then catch him at his car tonight. I can point you in the right direction when you're ready to go.”

Lucy gasped and pressed her hand to her heart. “Oh, you're just the best!” she cried as she leant further into Wyatt's side, beaming at both of them in turn. “Isn’t she just the best, darling? Now we won't have to miss dinner. That sounds like it’ll work a treat, thank you so much!”

Wyatt dropped a kiss on Lucy's cheek and then nodded at the waitress. “That it does. Thank you, ma’am,” he said.

They picked at their food once the waitress had wandered off to another table. Occasionally she looked back over at them and they caught her eye, waving and grinning brightly.

“So now we just have to wait,” Lucy said quietly. “I think that went well though, don’t you? She didn't seem too suspicious in the end.”

“No she didn't, _darling_ ,” Wyatt replied. His eyes crinkling at the corners as he snorted into his coffee. "Though she seems to think we're cute or something now, she keeps looking over here."

“Well. At least it's better than dodging patrols outside for the next few hours. Especially in these shoes,” Lucy said dryly.

Their waitress paused again on her way past to top up their coffees, and Wyatt’s arm tightened around Lucy’s shoulder. He leaned close and Lucy fought to suppress a shiver as his breath brushed against her ear when he spoke. “You got a point there,” he just said with a chuckle.

Lucy's breath caught slightly when his eyes lingered on hers as he pulled back.

"So," she said slowly. "We've probably got another hour or two to kill before we can go track down his parking space. Any thoughts how we follow him once we find it?"

Wyatt didn't answer immediately, still looking back at her silently. "I'll hotwire one of the other cars," he finally said. His voice sounded a little rough all of a sudden, but he ducked his head as he spoke and turned back to his food.

"Okay, that could work," Lucy said as she watched him fidget with a fry on the side of his plate. "Sounds like a plan," she continued a moment later, and Wyatt quickly shot her one of his skin-deep happy-go-lucky grins.

Their waitress passed by again, finally making her way back to the other side of the diner. Wyatt squeezed Lucy's shoulder under his hand once more as she passed, and then pulled his arm away. 

"Sounds like a plan," he echoed.

Lucy continued watching him. Wyatt was surveying the room once more and he didn't glance over again, but his body was warm where it pressed against hers in the booth. She leant into it a little as she turned back towards her own plate, and settled in to wait.


End file.
